OSC unveils charter for office to promote innovation

• A charter unveiled Thursday by a newly created branch of the Ontario Securities Commission lays the groundwork for new forms of capital raising, more avenues for innovators and a reduced regulatory burden.

The document guiding the OSC’S new Office of Economic Growth and Innovation branch is in keeping with a broader push by the Ontario government to ensure the province is “open for business” and to lower business costs.

“The OSC has a role to play in creating conditions that attract capital, talent and new ideas to Ontario’s capital markets,” said Grant Vingoe, acting chair and chief executive of the OSC.

“This role takes on added importance in Ontario’s pandemic recovery, and with the support of our government, we have moved quickly to establish a dedicated Innovation Office, announce its leadership and publish our plans to build a stronger innovation ecosystem and fuel Ontario’s long-term economic growth.”

Among the charter’ s pledges is the implementation of a “regulatory sandbox” that will allow novel ideas and startups to be tested while free from the rules and regulations that apply to other businesses under the purview of the regulator.

An existing regulatory testing ground for innovation, OSC Launchpad, will be broadened to test new forms of capital formation including crowdfunding and angel investment networks.

The charter also pledges to modernize regulation and reduce regulatory burdens in consultation with market participants. The regulator will look into ways to lower access and trading costs, and consider “whether existing rules require modification or have outlived their usefulness.”

The charter states the vision of the new OSC branch, which is to be fully opermanufacturing. Both of the projects are now under construction. ational by March, is to recognize “the role of innovation as a powerful driver of competition and consumer choice, and the critical role it will play in Ontario’s pandemic recovery and longterm growth.”

It includes a pledge to “be progressive and take calculated risks” in support of that vision and to foster a culture that “encourages experimentation, embraces failures as necessary learning steps and allows for a quick pivot to the next idea.”

The OSC on Thursday also joined a group of 23 regulators across five continents in an initiative that invites firms to apply to simultaneously test and scale innovative products or services in multiple jurisdictions.

Two other Canadian capital markets watchdogs — in Alberta and Quebec — joined the initiative, which is intended to give companies insights into how their business might operate in the international markets.

In June, the OSC announced that Pat Chaukos, who led Launchpad from its inception as a pilot project, would lead the new Office of Economic Growth and Innovation.

Doug Steiner, whose background is in Canadian financial services with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, was brought on as the office’s executive adviser for innovation.